Cheyenne Council OKs $250K for Splash Pad, Asks for Private Donations

After pulling the project from the sixth-penny ballot in May, the Cheyenne City Council on Monday approved an amended resolution announcing its intent to put money toward a splash pad on the Depot Plaza.

About two years ago, all four economic development organizations came together to develop the Downtown Cheyenne Core Plan, which included the splash pad as a way to draw more people downtown.

The council adopted the plan in April 2016, committing $250,000 in city funds to the project.

"Unfortunately since that time, the estimates for the project have gone up quite substantially," said Councilman Dicky Shanor. "We also have some major projects on our plate that we didn't have in 2016."

"So this is a public/private partnership," Shanor added. "It's saying hey the city's got its $250,000 commitment, but we're going to need the private sector to come up with that other half."

"This is a project at a relatively low price tag that does do something for our core of downtown," said Darren Rudloff, President and CEO of Visit Cheyenne.

"It adds that quality of life project," added Rudloff. "It's an amenity that's not just enjoyed by visitors when they come into our community, but also our families, our workers (and) our young people."

"It isn't that we're trying to keep up with our neighbors or the Joneses," said Councilman Pete Laybourn. "It's because they work, it's because they're exciting, it's because kids love them and the parents come with them."

"It is not as frivolous as it might seem," Laybourn added. "It's a tool in having the kind of downtown we want and completing what we started with with the plaza all those years ago."

Laybourn says the project is conditional on funds being privately raised before June 1, 2019.